Sonoran Prevention Works is an advocate for people in Arizona affected by drug use

We provide community workshops, trainings, referrals, consultation, and risk reduction materials to individuals, families, and organizations in order to prevent HIV, Hepatitis C, overdose, and the perpetuation of stigma.

Sonoran Prevention Works is an advocate for people in Arizona affected by drug use

We provide community workshops, trainings, referrals, consultation, and risk reduction materials to individuals, families, and organizations in order to prevent HIV, Hepatitis C, overdose, and the perpetuation of stigma.

Sonoran Prevention Works is an advocate for people in Arizona affected by drug use

We provide community workshops, trainings, referrals, consultation, and risk reduction materials to individuals, families, and organizations in order to prevent HIV, Hepatitis C, overdose, and the perpetuation of stigma.

To end health disparities faced by those made vulnerable by drug use & other high-risk behaviors in Arizona through harm reduction focused education, advocacy, and evidence-based programming.

Our Vision

Our Services

We provide community workshops, trainings, referrals, consultation, and risk reduction materials to individuals, families, and organizations in order to prevent HIV, Hepatitis C, overdose, and the perpetuation of stigma. SPW organizes syringe cleanups and also offers free condoms and naloxone to people at risk of overdose. We rely on a network of committed volunteers and partners throughout the state to improve community health.

Overdose Prevention with Naloxone

Opioid overdose happens when the opioid receptors in your brain become flooded with opioids. This causes breathing to slow down to the point of respiratory failure. The good news is that overdoses are preventable. Learn how you can prevent an overdose from ever occurring.

Donate

Sonoran Prevention Works is the only comprehensive harm reduction organization that combines direct service, legislative advocacy, and capacity building to create stronger, healthier communities for people made vulnerable by substance use. As a grassroots organization, we depend on your support to help us create change. Please make a tax-deductible donation today.

People who use or have a history of using drugs (prescribed or non-prescription), friends & family members, healthcare professionals, behavioral health and treatment providers, and ALL members of the community are WELCOME and encouraged to attend!

Naloxone (Narcan) is an easy-to-use medication that when administered in time, can prevent death due to opioid overdose. Common opioids include heroin, OxyContin, codeine, Percocet, and Vicodin.

Participants of this training will learn:

- The basics of Harm Reduction
- Statistics Nationally and Locally here in AZ
- The laws that were passed
- How unaddressed trauma impacts brain development
- What is Substance Use Disorder
- How to recognize if someone is overdosing
- How Naloxone reverses an overdose
- How to respond to an opioid overdose using Naloxone
- How to create an overdose plan

This training is free and every attendee will receive free intramuscular Naloxone kits!

Prescott Office

Harm reduction is very close to my heart. I have lost close family and friends to the effects of using drugs and suicide. Prior to SPW I worked in administrative medical roles at a naturopathic medical clinic as well as a chiropractic assistant and massage therapist. I myself have been in recovery for 5 years. Outside of SPW, I enjoy mini golfing with my 4-year-old and teaching my 19-year-old how to drive.

Saturday, February 2

9:30am-11:00am – Training
11:30am-1:00pm – Training
1:00pm-2:00pm – Drop in Story Framing WorkshopThis is where we will work one on one with individuals or teams on how they would like to share their story and message. Drop on in!

Receiving Individual Income Tax Credit by Supporting Sonoran Prevention Works

Contributions to Qualifying Charitable Organizations
An individual income tax credit is available for contributions that provide assistance to the working poor. The credit is available only to individuals. You report the name of the Qualifying Charitable Organization you donated to as well as the dollar amount of your donation to the Department of Revenue on Form 321. You must also total your nonrefundable individual tax credits on Form 301 and include all applicable forms when you file your tax return.

Maximum Credit Amount for Contributions
Taxpayers filing as “single” and “head of household” status may claim a maximum credit of $400. Taxpayers filing as “married filing separate” may claim a maximum credit of $400. Taxpayers that file as “married filing joint” may claim a maximum credit of $800.

Only Allowed to Claim the Contribution as a tax credit, not a deduction
You may only claim a tax credit for your charitable contribution on your Arizona state return if the organization you donated to is considered a Qualifying Charitable Organization. A complete listing of Qualifying Charitable Organizations is published on the Department of Revenue’s website. Donations made to organizations not listed on the department’s published website are typically allowable as deductions. You cannot claim both a deduction and a credit for the same charitable contribution on your Arizona return.

Period for Making Eligible Contributions
Beginning with the tax year (month of January for each year) credit eligible contributions made to a Qualifying Charitable Organization that are made on or before what is considered the last day to file taxes in April (usually between the 15th – 20th day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year) may be applied to either the current or the preceding taxable year and is considered to have been made on the last day of that taxable year.

About Sasia

Sasia Reyes, the Development Coordinator for Sonoran Prevention Works, is responsible for researching and developing grants and fundraising initiatives to drive and support SPW’s continued growth and community impact. Sasia studied English Literature and Nonprofit Management at Arizona State University. She is committed to providing compassion, respect and dignity to all people in Arizona. Outside of her professional work, Sasia enjoys reading and discussing Renaissance revenge tragedy lit, spending time with her family and expanding her indoor plant collection.

About Juliana

Juliana has been active in harm reduction education for over a decade, training with MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) in crisis intervention and integration care, and offering workshops in safer drug use at music festivals. She covered the global drug war for a UK publication and volunteered on the Operation Identification project to identify the remains of Central American refugees who died in the desert fleeing to the U.S. She has a degree in anthropology and her academic work focuses on traditional plant ceremonies and intergenerational/historical trauma. As a Coahuiltecan and Maya descendant, her advocacy centers on the disproportionate impact of the drug war on Indigenous communities and improving access to culturally-sensitive healthcare.

About Courteney

Courteney Wettemann joins Sonoran Prevention Works as a dedicated advocate for health equity and dignity for people who use drugs. She has worked as a volunteer throughout Arizona doing community outreach, providing Naloxone supplies and education, and supporting syringe access programs. She draws on personal experience to inform her work with people at risk for overdose and their communities. Courteney is currently pursuing a degree in public health with an emphasis in sexual and reproductive health. If you can’t find her in the office, she is probably out exploring with her dog, Rascal.

About Maria

Maria Jagles joins Sonoran Prevention Works with a passion for nurturing healthier communities through empowerment and advocacy. She brings to SPW 12 years of experience in HIV/STI/HCV prevention, testing & education, and linkage to care for individuals experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, mental illness, substance use disorder, as well as those in transactional sex work. She’s facilitated CDC evidence-based prevention interventions and has conducted community outreach throughout Maricopa County. She was born and raised in the small mining town of Globe-Miami, AZ and currently resides in Tempe, AZ. She enjoys the arts, soul-moving music, and a good laugh. Maria continues to be dedicated to enriching the lives of marginalized communities and is excited to be joining SPW on this crucial mission.

About Christopher

Christopher Lee Thomas AA, C.P.S.S, F.P.S.S,is a survivor of the War on Drugs and a compassionate advocate for evidence based, harm-reduction strategies that improve the quality of life for people who use drugs and their families. Christopher uses his background in substance use, recovery, peer support, and harm reduction work to identify and navigate peer networks so as to better engage stigmatized individuals into services such as substance abuse treatment, syringe access, and overdose prevention. He was most recently managing the SAP at SAAF as a Sr. Health Education Specialist while also conducting HIV/HCV testing, linking clients to care, providing overdose prevention and distributing naloxone, and leading cohorts of the SHIELD evidenced-based intervention. Christopher is the Southern Arizona Overdose Prevention Coordinator at Sonoran Prevention Works

About Karen

Karen is an AmeriCorps VISTA member that will be serving with Sonoran Prevention Works for the next year supporting our overdose prevention work. Karen comes to SPW with a Masters in Public Health and a strong background working with veterans & LGBTQ communities. She is working closely with our overdose prevention staff on several capacity-building projects. Please come by the office to say hello and welcome her to Prescott (if you are in this neck of the woods)!

Sarah Fynmore joins Sonoran Prevention Works with experience in advocacy, community outreach and policy research. She is passionate about the intersectional implications of drug policy specifically as it relates to human rights, our criminal justice system, and border relations. Before joining Sonoran Prevention Works, Sarah conducted drug policy research for a think tank in Santiago, Chile and then managed operations for natural disaster recovery programs in rural areas of Peru. Prior to her time in South America, she spent several years in Washington, DC working in topics of corruption in Venezuela and coordinated congressional advocacy campaigns to raise awareness of Venezuelan humanitarian crises and political injustices.

About Jill

Jill Bird joins the Sonoran Prevention Works team with many years of interest in SPW and overdose prevention work. She comes to SPW with personal experience having lost a life partner, several family members, and close friends to overdose. Jill has worked in the Accounting/Bookkeeping and administrative fields for seven years, most recently having spent time operating a business that focuses on botanical alternatives for wellness and Ayurvedic medicine. Jill has wanted to be involved with SPW for several years and is excited to help implement our mission as our Office Administrator.

About Dusti

Dusti Yamaguchi is your friendly neighborhood harm-reductionist in Kingman, Arizona. Dusti is certified in AcuDetox and Peer Support. She enjoys drumming and hiking, and has lived in Kingman since 2011.

About Denise

Denise Wisdom considers herself a “Jill of All Trades”. Arriving in the Valley of the Sun from Colorful Colorado, with over 20 years fund development, operational, and programmatic experience in community-based organizations, Denise is dedicated to working with nonprofits to strengthen programs and services, build resource capacity, and create a stronger community impact via grant writing, fundraising, and relationship-building. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Millikin University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Denise balances work with playful life endeavors of sight-seeing travel, smooth jazz concerts, and cultural festivals.

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About Nathan

Nathan Leach has helped cultivate a variety of community-based projects in Phoenix, including a local bike co-op that provides resources and education to community members who rely on bicycles as their main form of transportation. In 2011 Nathan co-founded the first syringe access program in Maricopa County and in 2016 he completed a master’s level clinical internship focusing on harm reduction counseling in rural areas. He is passionate about the integration of critical theory and creative processes within psychotherapeutic modalities, and hopes to bridge the gap between radical sociological research and counseling approaches while utilizing creative, art-based interventions.

About Patrick

Patrick received a BA in Creative Writing in 2001 and a BS in Psychology in 2013. Entering the behavioral health field in 2014 with La Frontera in Tucson, he worked with the GMH and SMI population for almost a year before moving to the Hope Center, his agency’s methadone clinic in January, 2015. In addition to duties as a recovery coach, Patrick has spearheaded his clinic’s naloxone prescription program, the first such program at a behavioral health agency in the state of Arizona. After successful implementation, Patrick worked to expand the program to all of La Frontera’s outpatient clinics. Patrick also works as a volunteer with Sonoran Prevention Works.

About Thoi

Thoi was born and raised in the Valley of the Sun, and has a deep love and strong connection to the people and places he grew up with. His experiences living and working in Phoenix have informed his engagement in community organizing which began in 2012. He hopes to work alongside his neighbors to build powerful solutions to the problems we face, by doing what needs to be done when and where it is needed. Thoi’s professional experience includes stints as a dishwasher, bank teller, cook, street advertiser, and freelance photographer. He is a second-generation Asian American and in his spare time he likes to grow, cook, and eat food.

About Layal

(@Layalzebub) is a third culture kid who has spent years practicing the fine art of parachuting into projects as the need for her skills arises. She takes an intersectional approach to her work in immigrant rights and public health and does not shy away from any cause where injustice is present and her contribution is welcomed and necessary. Her experience lies in traditional and digital communications using all mediums from her own voice to videos to writing to tweeting, assembling audience-specific information for delivery in an infinite amount of ways. An infinitely curious researcher and an obsessive collector and assembler of information, she is often seen managing projects, playing a supportive role in the background and amplifying the voices of those directly affected by injustice in her community. Fluent in English & Arabic, knows a few words in Spanish & Armenian.

About Brendan

Sonoran Prevention Works’ program is close to Brendan’s heart. Many friends and loved ones have been affected by the disease of addiction and he enthusiastically supports the program in its growth and development. Brendan began his career as an Auditor at Deloitte & Touche LLP, supervising audit teams for public and non-public entities. Most recently Brendan has been worked as a Financial Controller. As Treasurer of Sonoran Prevention Works Brendan is involved in overseeing the management and reporting of the organizations finances, Brendan graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in Accounting, earning a Master of Accountancy from the same institution the following year. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of Arizona.

About Calicia

Calicia White is the Program Director for the Ebony House Outreach Department, a division of Ebony House, Inc. that works to increase health outcomes for African Americans who are HIV-positive and reduce new diagnoses in the community. Calicia’s goal is to eliminate the stigma of HIV in the African American community to ultimately eliminate HIV transmission. Calicia has been a part of the Arizona community for over 30 years and works tirelessly to improve the health status of Arizonans. Mother of a wonderful son and member of the community she services, Calicia loves her family, friends and community. A graduate of Keller Graduate School, Calicia earned her Master’s in Public Administration Health Services Management and is dedicated to decreasing health disparities in the African American community as a means to increased lifestyle.

About Zeenat

Zeenat Hasan is a learner and an amateur anthropologist who looks for innovative and mundane ways to make healthcare equitable. Her interests include ethics and human rights, immigration/migration issues, humanitarian aid, activism, reproductive justice, racial justice, and population health. She has held jobs/volunteer positions as a/n helper in her mother’s dry cleaning/tailoring businesses, receptionist at doctors’ offices, volunteer for hospital radiation department, brain trauma rehab assistant, bio lab instructor, program/policy director, co-chair for Aim for Equity National Coalition, Co-founder of Arizona Chapter of the National Asian American Women’s Forum, and most recently, mother of one. The last of these has reinforced her drive to create equitable and ethical spaces in healthcare and the systems that support it. Zeenat moved to the valley in 2004 and stayed because of the beauty and vastness of the Arizona desert and the open community of people she found here.

About Turiya

Turiya Coll joins the Sonoran Prevention Works team with a long term dedication to harm reduction. She brings seven years experience with HIV/HCV/STI prevention and advocating for health care rights for pregnant women, intravenous drug users, and other marginalized populations. Turiya has trained with the CDC on prevention interventions, crisis counseling, and trauma informed care. She is excited to join the SPW family, and will be working as an overdose prevention coordinator.

About Stacey

Stacey Cope comes to Sonoran Prevention Works with a fierce passion to improve the lives of Arizonans who use drugs and their loved ones. Stacey has enacted her dedication to harm reduction in the work she has done as an advocate for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, supporting formerly incarcerated youth living in group homes, HIV and Hepatitis C testing, education and linkage to care, and in serving one of the top few syringe access programs in the state. Stacey is a fourth generation Arizonan. She lives in Tucson with her wife and two dogs, where they spend most of their time on Mt. Lemmon.

About Haley

Haley Coles has been working to improve the health of people who are marginalized by drug use, criminalization, and mental illness in Arizona since 2006. She was born and raised in Central Phoenix and studied English and Public Health at Arizona State University and University of Arizona. Before founding Sonoran Prevention Works she coordinated health literacy and Hepatitis C screening projects for people who inject drugs in Tacoma, WA; provided direct care for homeless women and young adults in Seattle, WA; and taught independent living skills to current and former foster youth in Maricopa County.